Hotels, campsites completely booked during the eclipse

Visitor councils across the Upstate are reporting hotels and campsites at 100 percent capacity the night before the solar eclipse

SOUTH CAROLINA (FOX Carolina) -

Glenn Brill is dusting off his solar eclipse glasses, getting ready for the big day. He said the pressure is on to make sure everything is aligned, and he's not just talking about the moon and the sun.

For five years, he's been planning this moment.

"It actually came onto my radar screen in 2012," Brill said.

As he stood in front of the Anderson Civic Center, Brill said the surrounding green fields will be shoulder to shoulder on the day of the blackout.

"I'm excited and I'm also scared because this will easily be the biggest event the Upstate has ever seen,” Brill said. “I've likened it to having ten Clemson football games on the same day at the same time."

Brill said two million tourists are expected to make their way to the Upstate for the spectacle.

"I talked to a man from London, England and he has a hotel room in Spartanburg County,” Brill said. “He's going to drive over to the civic center on August 21st."

If travelers don't already have a place to stay, businesses said its slim pickings.

"At this point if they don't have a camper they are willing to just come in and get a tent pad for the night," said Stephanie Blake with The Forest Spring Family Campground.

She said they’ve been booked up for months, but calls are still flooding in with folks desperate for a place to stay, even if it means an empty field.

"They don't care about water or power,” Blake said. “They just want a space to park so they can see the eclipse and experience this once in a lifetime celestial happening."

Blake said Forest Spring didn't up the prices, but many hotels across the area did. Brill said it's all about supply and demand and some rooms quadrupled their normal rate.

"When the demand is high, the rates go up,” Brill said. “But the flip side is as the rates go up that gives us more money to do things like stage the blackout events we’ve been planning.”